1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to managing device features and more specifically keeping device features locked during normal use while having the capability of securely unlocking device features.
2. Description of the Related Art
As demand for a genuinely open source community where the next generation of networked application platforms may evolve, the marketplace is being overwhelmed with consumer electronics ranging from smart phones, hand held PDA's, and even digital book readers. Along with burgeoning consumer electronics market, application developers help to bridge the gap between the end consumer and their wants.
One conventional approach for protecting and controlling the use of software is done through licensing the use of software on a particular central processing unit residing on a computing device. After a code is generated at a central service, the code is provided to a third party publisher, who then provides the code to the end user, who then provides it to the computing device, thereby unlocking the appropriate software or features residing on the computing device. However, this approach is undesirable for an application developer who may need more extensive access to a computing device than a simple licensing code would provide. The networked application platform, on the other hand, may require additional protections when allowing the application access to normally locked features of the computing device.
Another mechanism for managing and providing services to a third party application developer involves allowing the application developer to use a scaled-down version of a registered application on a specific electronic device, creating a specialized version of the registered application. After which, a central facility can substitute the specific version of the registered application appropriate to the needs of the application developer and the specific electronic device. Once again, however, the third party application developer in need of unlocking key features and tools of a computing device, may require the full version of the registered development application vis-à-vis the electronic device.
Though other approaches have tried to protect the rights of application developer while protecting the digital content of the networked application platform, the current state of technology has not adequately accounted for targeting the requirements of specific users with specific devices. Requirements such as access to developer documentations, tools and SDK's.
It would be desirable to provide a secure, efficient and scaleable resource for third party application developers to ensure that only registered developers and registered devices gain access to developmental applications.